When Manchester United went on tour to Bangkok and Australia three years ago, Erik ten Hag laid down the law to his players with a strict set of rules. Keep to the dress code, wear the right footwear and under no circumstances be late for team meetings or meals.
Trouble was, the lifts at the Athenee Hotel in the Thai capital were running a little slow, so rather than risk breaking one of the new manager's commandments and incurring a punishment, players would routinely abandon them and race up 40 flights of stairs, emerging in front of the hawk-like Ten Hag out of breath, sweating and lucky not to have pulled a muscle.